AUGUSTA, Ga. – A 17-point first half deficit was too much to overcome as Clayton State (4-6, 1-3 PBC) dropped a 101-66 decision at Augusta (7-3, 3-1 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's basketball game on Saturday, January 5.
 
Redshirt-senior forward JaCarl Owens (Orlando, Fla.) led the Lakers with 16 points and six rebounds while junior guard Kyle Kincey (Tallahassee, Fla.) finished with 13 points, five boards and four assists. Junior guard D'von Moore (Statesboro, Ga.) and senior guard Justin Tuckson (Stafford, Va.) added eight and six points, respectively.
 
Augusta would waste no time as they scored the first eight points on their way to a 12-4 lead by the 15:36 mark. A Tuckson three-pointer and Taylor layup helped cut it to five, 14-9, little more than a minute later but it would be only a momentary reprieve as the Jaguars put together a 15-6 run to stretch to a 29-15 margin with 9:39 remaining in the half.
 
Trailing 38-21, the Lakers stemmed the tide with 11 straight points to cut it to a just a six point deficit, 38-32, by the 2:17 mark. From there, however, the Jaguars closed the half by scoring 10 of the final 13 points to head to the break with a 48-35 advantage.
 
The Lakers would pull to within 10 points, 57-47, over the first 3:47 of the second half only to see that surge brushed aside by back-to-back triples from Augusta that extended back to a 16 point lead less than a minute later. That would key what would become a 19-4 run that gave the Jaguars a 76-51 lead with 10:48 to play.
 
It would not get any better from there as Augusta's lead ballooned to 27 with an 82-55 spread with just over eight minutes to go. That margin would eventually grow to 35 as they closed out the 101-66 decision.
 
Deane Williams led the Jaguars with a game-high 21 points along with five boards, four assists, three blocks and three steals while Rafael Monteiro finished with 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting.  Tyvez Moore knocked down three triples for 17 points and Aaron Byrd had 12 points, three caroms and three steals. Troy Cracknell added 10 points and Tyree Myers had seven points and four assists.
 
The Lakers won't be off long as they are right back in action on Wednesday, January 9 when they travel to Young Harris. Tip-off is set for approximately 7:30 p.m. in Young Harris, Georgia following the women's contest.